The UK Space Agency says it has selected four partners to receive £122,000 in grants for its ‘out-reach and education’ activities (gov.uk/ukspaceagency).

The partners are: Curved House Kids (City on Mars Discovery Diary); North Hertfordshire College (Airbus Foundation Discovery Space — Aurora Programme); Northumbria University (Family Space Explorers); and Spacefund (RoboKids Primary School Tour).

A spokesman said: “The UK Space Agency is delighted to be able to support these projects, which meet our education objectives in encouraging children to take up STEM subjects, raise awareness of careers in space-related areas, and raise awareness of the UK’s exploration programme.

“We look forward to publishing more details on the individual projects, as they get up and running over the next few months.”

NUSTEM at Northumbria University, which will be working on the ‘Family Space Explorers’ project, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as part of the UK Space Agency’s out-reach programme.

Space is a fascinating subject, and we’re looking forward to bringing the story of space exploration to toddlers and their families. Through story books and creative activities, we’ll be sharing a glimpse of the UK’s role in space with North East families.

Joanne Fox from Spacefund, who will be creating the ‘RoboKids Primary School Tour’, said: “We aim to take over 7,000 primary-school children on an inspirational journey to Mars.

“Pupils will help programme our friendly robot ‘Nao’ and embark on a robotic mission to the Red Planet.

“RoboKids uses a recipe of fun, excitement, and technology to deliver a 40min interactive show, followed by a 40min ExoMars rover building and programming workshop.”